Kerby Anderson

Today is January 6. For the last four years, anytime you said the words “January 6” your mind went to the mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and resulted in more than $2 million in damage. This year, the date, January 6, 2025, will have less drama. As one commentator put it, “Donald Trump’s victory has made January 6 boring again.”

This date is when a joint session of Congress counts the Electoral College votes to formalize the election. There was some controversy eight years ago since Hillary Clinton won the popular vote while Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote. Some prominent Democrats and media personalities had encouraged the electors in some of the states to vote for Hillary Clinton instead of Donald Trump. But the session that took place eight years ago had little controversy.

But the 2016 election did highlight concerns about what is called “a faithless elector.” In that election, ten members of the Electoral College voted or attempted to vote for a candidate other than the one for whom they were pledged. Three votes were invalidated under that state’s faithless elector law. The remaining seven did not affect the election but illustrated a future problem.

Perhaps the biggest controversy in Congress this January was the vote for Speaker of the House. In the past, voting for the Speaker and counting the Electoral College votes have been perfunctory. That either of these votes or tabulations is controversial points to the divided nation we live in today.

There are certain to be other controversies in Congress this session. But when Donald Trump won both the popular vote and the Electoral College vote, he made January 6 boring again.